Outsider Chronicles: Son of the Sun

Being reborn is a pain. Of course, sometimes that pain is more than worth it. After all, I can't exactly complain when I live in a world where magic and Gods are real and I'm slap bang in the middle of it.

Hehehe, ohh, this idea has me salivating at how cool its gonna be! Hehe, lets go. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I died. Fluffy clouds? Golden Gates? Perhaps a tall fellow in a black cloak with a scythe? As it happened, I got none of the above. What I got instead was being reborn, an experience I am VERY glad faded from my memory very quickly. Still, I'm not going to complain. Sure, going through puberty twice would be a pain and school would likely be incredibly dull, but at least I knew what not to do this time! Tabula Rasa, a clean slate.

Growing up was...odd. Rather than living with either parents, I instead grew up with a caretaker/maid named Mikoto, a kind, motherly woman who seemed oddly familiar. No idea why though considering she was about as average as a Japanese woman as can be. I on the other hand had blond hair so pale it was nearly white and black eyes.

I was actually a pretty normal kid growing up. I think that might have something to do with the fact I also had the memories of my old life knocking about in my head. If I had grown up as a completely normal kid, I'd probably be a tad less well adjusted. Of course, there was always a sense that I was missing something massively important. Occasionally, I'd see things that made me take a second look, only to find that I was either imagining them or seeing things. Things like rhino sized dogs, a man with rams horns, and even a massive bloke in a trench coat and fedora who I swear only had one eye. However, it wasn't until I was twelve that I figured out that I wasn't seeing things and I was apparently screwed.

It began when I woke up to certain...changes. Now, while most boys my age might wake up with sticky sheets, mine was a little...different. I woke up as a puppy. A tiny, white wolf cub with crimson markings over my fur and a tail shaped like a calligraphy brush. Ooookey, not what I was expecting for my twelfth birthday but I'll roll with it.

I was still trying to figure out how to walk on four paws when my bedroom door opened and Mikoto walked in. When she spotted me stumbling around on the floor, we both froze. Then, she did the exact opposite thing I was expecting considering the boy she was looking after had woken up as a mutt and smiled.

"Ah good, I was hoping you'd have already changed," she said.

"WHAT!?" I tried to yell, only for it to come out as a cute little bark.

Mikoto chuckled and scooped me up in her arms. I tried to struggle, but she scratched me behind the ears and my body immediately went limp with pleasure.

"Sorry Haru, but we can't wait for you to figure out how to walk on your own," she said, "Your mother's here."

I immediately froze. My mother? I knew she was alive, as was my Father, but I'd never once met either of them. Whenever I tried to ask Mikoto about either of them, she always brushed it off and changed the subject. Now she was here? Why? Did it have something to do with my random transformation? Probably. Either way, I'd soon find out as Mikoto carried me downstairs.

"Ammy, hes awake, finally," said Mikoto as she carried me into the living room.

I poked my head over her arms, eager to see my Mother for the first time...only for my eyes to fall on, not a woman, but instead a majestic, pure white wolf with the same crimson markings and calligraphy brush shaped tail. She also had a mirror wreathed in flames floating behind her and orange cheese puff dust around her muzzle from the bowl of crisps I'd left on the table the night before.

The wolf looked up and her eyes lit up at the sight of me. She licked her chops clean and trotted over as Mikoto put me down. I took a few steps back as the wolf approached, a little intimidated by the size difference. The wolf paused and let out a quiet whine, her ears drooping slightly. I hesitated for a moment longer, before I slowly padded forwards. The wolf...my Mother's ears perked back up and she dipped her head, nudging my nose with hers. I hesitated again, before I nudged her back. Mum let out a happy bark and nuzzled me, before she lay down and gently took the scruff of my neck in her jaws, depositing me next to her where she started to groom my coat. I would have protested, but my new wolfish instincts decided to make themselves known then and made me stay put. Besides, Mum was incredibly warm and I'm not ashamed to admit that I had dearly wished for something similar (although I had expected it to be in Human form) for years, even with my adult mind.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but eventually I reluctantly pulled myself away from Mum's ministrations and looked up at her. I tried to speak, but once again, it only came out as barks, growls and whines. However, Mum seemed to understand and dipped her head. A moment later, she vanished in a brilliant glow that reminded me of the sun and forced me to look away. However, that didn't stop me from feeling the warm body I was leaning against morph from a wolf to me laying on a Human lap. After a moment, the glow faded and a set of gentle fingers started running through my fur.

I opened my eyes and looked up at the woman holding me. She was Japanese and looked about 20, although her hair was pure white with black tips and crimson markings in the strands. She was beautiful, with porcelain white skin that looked like it had never once seen the sun. Her eyes were black and surrounded by scarlet eyeline, her only but of makeup, other than her crimson lipstick. She was wearing a shrine maidens uniform and had a very large brush hanging from her shoulders and a round mirror resting against her legs that looked a lot like the one that had been floating behind her in her wolf form.

She smiled down at me, a look of relief in her eyes.

"Hello Haru," she said, her voice soft and soothing, "I'm sorry I didn't come and see you sooner, but rules made by beings much older and stronger than I prevented it. My name is Amaterasu, a Goddess of the Sun and your Mother."

I felt the bottom drop out of my stomach at that. Well, that explained why I recognized both my current form and Mum's wolf form. Of course, if anyone called me Chibiterasu, I'd definitely bite something. I barked a couple of times, before stopping and growling in annoyance. Damn this form, I wanted to ask some questions damn it! Mum chuckled at my frustration, making me growl again, before she poked me on the nose. There was a flash of light and I found myself back in Human form, still in her lap.

"Ahem, um, thanks," I said.

"I'll teach you how to transform at will later," said Mum, sounding more than a little amused, "So, you have questions?"

"More than a few," I said, "First question, and this may be a little stupid, but are you really that Amaterasu?"

Amaterasu snorted.

"I'm surprised to need to ask," she said, "After all, you were playing a game with me in it last night."

She indicated with her foot to the Okami box sitting on the coffee table.

"Fair enough," I said, "So what, I'm a Demigod?"

"Ehh, not really," said Amaterasu.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" I asked, feeling a rather uncomfortable feeling settle in my gut.

"Well, your Father...might be a...um, God as well," she said awkwardly.

I blinked. Thats…huh. How am I supposed to react to this exactly?

"So...what does that make me?" I asked, "Am I a God as well?"

"Not really, although you're definitely not just another Demigod," said Amaterasu, "See, I was inhabiting a Mortal body at the time. Its something I like to do on occasion so I don't lose my connection with the Mortals like some Gods. Under normal circumstances, any children I had in that life would be mortal as well, only with a higher affinity for Magic than normal. However, your Father's Divine nature caused my powers to reawaken in me. You were born Mortal, but the blood of two Gods flows through your veins. I have no idea what effect that will have on you, especially because the two of us were from different Pantheons."

"So...who is he?" I asked.

"I...can't tell you," said Mum, "The Ancient Laws prevent it. He has to be the one to claim you. However, I can tell you that he has no idea that I am a God as well. Kinda shortsighted of him considering…"

She trailed off looking thoughtful.

"Mum?" I asked.

Amaterasu quickly snapped out of it and shook her head.

"Right, back on track," she said, "There is one good thing about all this kafuffle though. Because you're technically a Godling, the rules are slightly different. So long as I keep doing my Godly duties, I can visit you whenever I want."

I blinked a couple of times, before what she was saying sank in.

"You mean…?"

Amaterasu gave a blinding smile and nodded.

"Yep, I'm gonna be sticking around for awhile," she said, "I'll need to leave on occasion, but just think of it like business trips."

I couldn't help it, I returned the blinding smile with one of my own and hugged my Mother tight, her returning the hug just as tightly.

After that, Mum was around more often that not and it quickly became obvious I'd got more than my hair colour than her. I'd also inherited her kindness, short and fiery temper and short attention span that often got me in trouble at school for sleeping in class. It also resulted in more than one night where we ended up fast asleep on the couch, usually curled up together in wolf form.

Speaking of which, Mum spent a lot of time teaching me how to use the powers I'd inherited from her, ranging from shapeshifting, to fire magic, to the ability to use the Celestial Brush, although she did have the Brush Gods train me in the use of that and I could only use them in my Wolf form. I have to say, it was kinda scary to think that I could slice things in half with a wave of my tail. I was also trained in the art of the sword by my Uncle, Susanoo.

How can I describe my Uncle? Well, the guy was big, loud, boisterous and incredibly obnoxious and seemed to have a habit of getting sloshed and then passing out on our couch. The relationship between him and Mum was rather similar to the one between Apollo and Artemis and I have to say, I found him rather annoying as well. Oh, thats not to say he wasn't fun to be around and a great teacher in the way of the warrior, but, outside of training, his company was best enjoyed in small doses and small amounts of booze.

I also met some of my mothers old friends during that time. Who were they you ask? Well, I think that either the folks over at Clover Studios are psychic or Mum had more to do with the game than she let on because they were Waka and Issun. Sakuya also dropped by on occasion, as did Kaguya. I liked most of them just fine, but Issun was so annoying I ended up trying to eat him after he made the mistake of calling me Chibi on our first meeting. I really liked Sakuya though and it wasn't because she thought I was adorable in my wolf form and had a tendency of hugging me to her chest or anything. No, not at all. NO YOUR A HORNDOG!

Anyway, about a year after I met my Mother, I was out and about, having fun in my wolf form in the local park. So long as I didn't do anything like bite someone, most people were happy to either ignore the adorable little puppy or, in the case of the kids and even some adults, play with me. Since gaining my Divine Beast form, I actually prefer to be in it due to how free it made me feel. Plus, I was less likely to get attacked by a monster in wolf form.

Anyway, on this particular day I wasn't fighting monsters, entertaining kids and I certainly wasn't chasing butterflies...ahem, anyway, I was sniffing around a wooded area while wondering if I could convince the local butcher to give me some sausages if I went and begged when I suddenly caught a whiff off something...strange. It smelt of darkness, death and a rich, musky undertone that I didn't recognize. Now, it might be cats that have a reputation of being too curious, puppys also have a rather dangerous amount themselves, so naturally I decided to investigate.

I followed the scent deeper into the woods and closer to the local Military school (which I thankfully didn't attend) until I reached a clearing. There I found a girl who looked about my age with long, silky dark hair, olive skin and black eyes that gleamed with what could either be madness or genius. She was wearing dull coloured jeans, a t-shirt and a thick jacket against the slight chill, as well as a floppy, green hat that hid her face, suggesting a lack of confidence.

Now, to be completely honest, I really should have seen it coming, but considering my Mother and her friends were all technically from Okami, I think I can be forgiven for missing the fact that Percy Jackson was a thing in this world. And apparently I had just stumbled on Bianca...doing her homework. At least she wasn't crying or something.

I hesitated at the edge of the clearing, not sure if I should approach the Daughter of Hades or not. I mean, I personally didn't have anything against the Greeks, but I have no idea how the Shinto and Greek Pantheons got along. For all I knew, a Son of Amaterasu and Daughter of Hades being friends could be the equivalent of Romeo and Juliet or something, minus the suicide of course. Then she put down her school books and pulled out a sandwich and my nose twitched. Pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce and, unless I was very much mistaken (I wasn't, my nose was razor sharp) she also had a pork pie in her lunchbox. My stomach rumbled and drool started dripping from my jaws. Fuck it, I'm hungry!

I licked my chops and trotted into the clearing. Bianca seemed to sense my arrival and looked up, an air of instinctive wariness in her eyes that quickly vanished when she saw I wasn't a gigantic monster out to eat her. Her lunch on the other hand…

Bianca smiled and held out her hand towards me. I trotted forwards, sniffed her hand and then nudged it with my nose.

"Hey boy, you lost?" she asked as she started petting me as I moved closer, "Lets see…"

She gently picked me up and looked at my collar. It had been a gift from my Mother that served duel purpose of stopping me from getting dragged off to the pound and was also enchanted so no one would ask why a puppy was running around on his own. It also served as a storage receptacle that turned into a bracelet in my Human form that held my Divine Instruments in the form of small charms hanging from it. My reflector also pulled double duty as a name tag. Unfortunately…

"So, your names Chibi is it?" asked Bianca, forcing me to suppress the urge to growl, "Thats a cute name."

No it really wasn't. Unfortunately for me, it had been Issun who had enchanted the collar and that meant that my tag proclaimed to all that my name was Chibi. I really needed to eat the little bastard, no matter how nasty he tasted. Then Bianca washed away that annoyance by scratching me behind the ears. Immediately, my tongue lolled out and my tail started wagging.

"Awww, your so cute!" squealed Bianca, "I wish I could have a cute puppy like you!"

I let out a bark and nuzzled closer to her, making her giggle again. Aww screw it, even if Shinto and Greek Gods hate each other, I'm only half Shinto. Besides, its not like anyone can fault me for making friends with a lonely girl, right?

Right, thats as good a place as any to end it, so lets wrap it up. Just to be clear, while, yes, characters and concepts from Okami will be used, this technically isn't a crossover with it. And if it is, the events of the game took place during ancient Japan. Yamata no Orochi might make an appearance though.

Haru isnt a God, not even close. Due to...reasons, hes actually got more in common with someone like Pegasus or Arion, a pseudo immortal being who only has a Human form because both his parents were Human when they had him. He probably will become a true immortal and eventually reach the level of a God in a hundred years or so (or as a reward for defeating something obcenly strong), but for now just consider him to be an extremely powerful Demigod on a similar level to one of the Big Three's kids.

Can anyone guess who Mikoto actually is? I'd be surprised if you can, but for those that do, she'll be the only one showing up.

Naturally, Amaterasu's wolf form is the same as the one from Okami and Haru looks like Chibiterasu. He'll also be using the same weapons as Chibi.

Take a stab at who Haru's dad is. He is Greek and I inserted a couple of clues into the chapter. With that in mind, I won't give any more.

And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!